Chapter 30: The Need for Weapons

Morning, Wang Nan city.

An Shan, Mu-er, and Xiao Mei walked towards the center of the city. An Shan, with a persona of a middle-aged man, was akin to a father taking his older son and young daughter out in the city. A shy four hours before the auction, and three hours before the auction house closed. It would take them just a short while before arriving there, but An Shan had instructed Mu-er to wake him up way earlier for a reason. There were preparations.

It was about the price for the herbs auctioned later today.

“Mu-er, remind me the information of the sellers again,”

“Yes Father. Their background was kept in closed secret, so we cannot be certain. From what we gather, they were from a large sect in the Northwest. Their wish was not money, but to trade each good with superior weapons. The best offer would win the prize, but if the best offer failed to gain their interest…”

“They hold the right to cancel the transaction,”

“Yes,”

Recalling the information from before, An Shan knew the matter must be of the utmost importance for them. For them to trade such valuable herbs for weapons, he pondered what predicament or needs they currently had.

“What would the weapons be used for? Did they specify the number?”

“They did not state the purpose. For the number, they specified that each good would be traded for a weapon, the minimum should be three.”

“If that satisfies them,”

“Em,”

“The location… Northwest from here, that still falls in the White Tiger clan’s domain, right?”

“Yes, you’re right… But it’s not a direct domain, they are vassal regions.”

“Hm…”

If the sellers were from there, they were likely vassals of the White Tiger. From what he heard, the clan imposed hefty tribute to be paid to them every three years. Any sects or clans which failed to fulfill it, would have to trade something of equal value. If not, their precious assets would be seized.

“Is there any events coming… Big events involving weapons?”

“Big events? Yes, there should be some. Do you wish to hear about them?”

“Which one involved primarily vassals of the White Tiger?”

“Their vassals… that should be the triennial Young Tigers Intersect Tournament,”

“Intersect Tournament? Young… tigers?”

“Yes, each sect or clan needed to send two of their best youngsters. Still, they must not be the same people who participated before,”

“Hmm… tournament eh,”

Somehow, he recalled hearing similar thing recently. But from where… Oh, Ling Shuren. Back then, he was treating the injury she suffered from the disciples of the White Tiger clan. This one tournament was different though. The one Ling Shuren entered was organized by the Alliance. It was larger than this coming one. This coming event was organized by the White Tiger Imperial Clan, and would involve only their vassals. Known as Young Tigers Intersect Tournament, only young disciples under thirty could participate in it. Nations and large sects under the clan’s direct influence would enter, showing off their might and new blood in the large social event.

The tournament, however, was pretty much a show of force by the White Tiger. In every competition for the last three hundred years, the winner had always been the disciples of the clan. Every now and then, the second place was taken by their vassal, partly due to the clan’s top disciples meeting each other in the semi-final. While they could avoid such a setup, the clan let it be. It was done deliberately to give some face to their vassals.

Thinking about it, was there any interest for the vassals in the competition? Aside from the status garnered from it, was there anything of such value, enough for them to sell all three herbs at the same time? Poising this question to Mu-er, the young man answered;

“It could be the prize,”

“Explain,”

“Yes. It concerned not the first prize, but the second…”

The first prize changed in every competition. It had always been a truly valuable one, further highlighting the power of the clan. However, since it had always been claimed by the clan disciples themselves, people did not eye on it too much. Besides, even if they could, winning against the White Tiger’s top disciple for the first place, might not mean a good thing…

Instead, the prize which was most desired by these vassals was for the second place. Aside from individual prize, the sect or nation backing such candidate would also be given a congratulatory prize –An exemption from paying the three-year tribute!

In order to make things interesting, there was a rule stating that participants could not enter for two times straight. This created enough chance for different sects to be hopeful.

Since the paying of the tribute was part of the ending ceremony for the tournament, the party in question would be able to return home with a big stride the very next day. The tribute for the three years was indeed hefty, equal to their sect’s annual income!

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Of course, those paying the tribute would have the White Tiger’s protection in return. It was never a one-way relationship. For mid-sized sects, it was a desired relationship. However, for the large sects, it meant that they would never be able to grow enough.

Never enough, to be free of the tiger’s clutches…

“Annual income… Indeed a lot, but I cannot help but think there’s something else,”

“Father?” Mu-er felt there was deep meaning in his comment, but he could not grasp it yet.

“Forget it, I was speaking to myself. As for the payment…”

Without enough information, An Shan decided it was a waste of time to ponder on it. As for the payment, the sellers had everyone know in advance they wished for superior weapons. An Shan made preparations beforehand, but he wondered if it was enough. From what the Blood Warriors suggested prior, it seemed the highest possible weapon they would ask for would be Heaven-class Spirit Weapons.

In the continent, the weapons were classified generally into four types,

– Common, Qi, Spirit, and Soul Weapons.

For normal people or poor cultivators, they would often use common weapons. This kind of weapon contained no infusion of any Qi or Will, making them the most brittle and least powerful. However, it also meant they were cheap and abundant. As for Qi weapons, most cultivators who were serious about their cultivation would not fail to acquire one. Having such valuable weapons could spell life and death during emergencies. They had been infused with Qi, giving them stronger durability and might. Cultivators could also unleash their Qi attack way better with Qi weapon instead of common ones.

The next kind of weapons would be rare. Spirit weapons, a luxury used primarily by rich cultivators. Almost all of them had a large clan or sect as backings. Any cultivator who held the title expert would be ashamed for not having one, while those who had one could hold their head high among their peers. This kind of weapon had been infused with the spirit of their crafter, making it able to respond to the user’s simple wish during combat. Having a weapon able to respond to the wielder’s wish could determine a defining moment – either dead or being saved during combat.

In combat, that which could determine winning or losing, life or death, was often prompt, lesser than a second difference.

Naturally, Spirit weapons were extremely expensive.

There were multiple reasons. First, the crafter itself had to be at least a Heavenly-Star Stage expert. Dedicating so much time and effort to actually make one, it would be weird if someone was selling this kind of treasure for cheap. Second, the materials needed to make it. They must fill certain criteria, since infusing one’s spirit required the weapon to be made with superior materials. Third, the high rate of failure in the creation process. Even veteran experts who dedicated three, four hundred years into this craft had a success rate below 40%.

With so many challenges in creating just one, it was normal for expert creators to be reluctant to part with their artwork. Most sold them to make enough to get the rare materials, wishing to create new Spirit Weapons.

“So I can’t trade my Soul weapons… No, I shouldn’t?”

“Y-you really mustn’t Ances… father. It’s impossible even for the Imperial clans to sell them. Their value is too high—”

“Right, right… I get it,”

As for Soul weapons, they referred to both Soul Armament and Soul Artifact. Both were priceless treasures even among the Imperial Clans. Their effect varied depending on the maker. Due to this fact, the sellers couldn't be expecting such a treasure to be exchanged with the herbs.

Fortunate for An Shan, the Blood Warriors mentioned this beforehand. Had it been his own logic, he would prepare the weapons he forged before to be exchanged. These were the very same weapons he granted to his Blood Warriors – The Soul Armaments. One must know that Soul weapons could only be forged, crafted, or infused into existence by Soul-Titans, the strongest cultivators in the continent!

Even Titan-Star Ancestors could not make these weapons. The best they could do was Partial-Soul Weapons, often called imitations. These imitations had great powers, but their instability made people shuddered in fear. It was like using an explosive as a sword. Who knew when it would explode right on your face! Titan-Stars cultivators, with only measly control over their massive energy, could best utilize their power to make one-time consumable items. An example of such was the life-saving tokens used by the core-disciples, or recently, the one used to attack Ru-er.

Should An Shan offer real Soul weapons in the auction, it would no doubt cause an uproar. So many powers would be interested to know who the idiot was, to be exchanging priceless treasure with the herbs. Of course, the herbs were really valuable, but it was still far cry from being called priceless. It was like comparing a large lake to an ocean. Children could not tell the difference, but adults with a brain ought to.

‘My sense of value seemed a bit off… I have to console my Blood Warriors before doing any transaction,’

He already made a few mistakes concerning Ru-er. Holding the token and Soul Armament with him, he allowed her to be seriously injured by a measly Titan-Star token. Thinking about it, he shuddered. This old ancestor might just do another mistake had the Blood Warrior not mention the value of his weapons. Back in his days, their value was also astronomical. However, these days, the value was way beyond his expectation.

The reason was simple. Twenty or so times more cultivators now, yet so fewer Ancestors around. There was more money, but lesser such weapons around. In simpler terms, there were more demands, yet lesser supplies. This inflated the value of such weapons.

‘For them to be so valuable now… If I sell one, how much can I get? Hm, perhaps I should just retire… hoho, that entertainment house looks quite enticing…’

Walking around, they checked the weapons store. If possible, An Shan wished to add a few more weapons good enough to withstand his Spirit Infusion. Once he succeeded, the weapon would be called Spirit Weapon.

In this auction, he knew it should not involve Soul Weapons. Like his Blood Warriors advised, it ought to at most involve Heaven-rank Spirit Weapon. To classify Spirit Weapons better, each was given its rank. There were only three such ranks, namely Mortal, Earth, and Heaven. To further differentiate it, expert evaluators would determine whether it was primary, mid, advance, or peak class.

In the Auction House, there were such evaluators, experts who could better tell the rank of such weapons with a glimpse. If that did not suffice, all they needed was to use the weapons for several moves before being able to accurately tell its rank.

Since it was possible the sellers intended for it to be used by their disciples, the best possible weapon would be limited to Spirit Weapons. While they could not utilize their full might, at least they would not be harmed from using them. Thinking about it, he had a few good Spirit Weapons with him.

However, he had a special feeling for these weapons. It was made by his old friends, so he preferred not to trade them. While he had some more Spirit Weapons he took from the Spirit Armory, he pondered on their quality. They did not seem too incredible… He wanted to temper them, but they would likely shatter due to two different spirits coming into one weapon. Due to their lack of quality, there was a good 99.9% chance that would happen. Well, out of over ten thousand Qi weapons from Absolute Aegis’ armory, only a few were good enough for him to infuse his spirit. At this rate, winning the auction might be a little…

Turning to Mu-er, he gestured him to lead the way.

“Oh well, I’ll just make some more… Let’s go.”

“We’re going straight to the Auction House? There’s still time,”

“No, I mean to the best weapon shops around,”

“B-best weapon shops?”

“Didn’t I tell you beforehand to get the info? Don’t tell me you don’t know where they are?”

“Of course, I know. But now, father?”

“It had to be now. I’ll be infusing some Spirit weapons on the way, so I’ll have to choose the best around,”

“O-on the way?”

It was super-challenging to create even one Spirit Weapon. Though he was not an expert in weapon crafting, Mu-er knew this much. Yet for his ancestor to say he would be doing Spirit Infusion on the way…

The heck!

Ancestor, I might be way younger than you, but please stop trolling your young one...

With you saying something like that so casually, I don’t know what to trust anymore…

While he was protesting inside, he led his Ancestor and Xiao Mei to the best weapon shop around.

--- Chapter 30 End ---